From the major construction work outside of Misericordia Health Centre, it is obvious that big changes are underway. Once renovated, the complex will house expanded community programs, including the four flagship programs not offered anywhere else in Manitoba: the Buhler Eye Care Centre, Provincial Health Contact Centre, Sleep Disorder Centre and Urgent Care Centre, plus the Ambulatory Diagnostic Centre and a new, one-stop health care centre for seniors called PRIME.

Studies suggest that the company that volunteers together not only stays together, but outperforms the rest.

Whether building houses, preparing hot meals or delivering hampers, volunteering as a team makes a difference in the community, but also enhances employee engagement and boosts the profile of the company. One recent report stated that 64 per cent of executives see how corporate citizenship has made a direct and positive impact on their bottom line.

Lloyd Axworthy, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg. (WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS )

The University of Winnipeg is the largest cohort of human activity in the downtown, with 15,000 students, faculty, staff and members of the community engaged on campus.

“There’s a critical mass of people here doing everything from studying to become scientists to putting on performances and attending basketball games. As a centre-of-the-city university, we are an activity hub with an economic impact in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” says Lloyd Axworthy, president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg.

The Winnipeg Foundation started in 1921 with a $100,000 donation from a man who said he owed his good fortune to living in the city and wanted it to benefit from the gains he had made. Three years later, the foundation received its second donation. It was for $15.

“That second gift was much different from the first, but it was the one that really set the base for our values as an accessible community foundation in which everyone can participate in building a better future,” says Richard Frost, CEO of The Winnipeg Foundation.